Like so many other former CMC students, Ray Drummond faced a
dilemma shortly after graduation: should he pursue a career as a
business executive or follow his passion and become a full-time jazz
musician? It was a lucky day for Drummond, the jazz world, and
CMC when he decided to see how far his musical talents could take him.

Since making that decision, Drummond has demonstrated his prowess on the
bass, working with such artists as Art Farmer, David Murray, Houston
Person, Stan Getz, Kenney Burrell, and Ray Bryant in over two hundred recordings.
Drummond has also made seven of his own recordings including Camera in a Bag (1989),Excursions (1993), and Vignettes (1995). Gene Santoro, writing for the Daily News, once said that
"Drummond create[s] elastic rhythmic textures that [keep] the soloists sharp and
the crowd's feet tapping. It's the kind of effect that everyone feels but only musicians hear." One assumes it was worth scrapping his day job.

A superb bassist, Drummond is also well known
as a composer, conductor, producer, and instructor. He has taught at music
schools all over the world, including the Stanford Jazz Workshop, the Berklee
School of Music, the University of Massachusetts, and the Sibelius Academy of
Music in Helsinki, Finland. Please join the Athenaeum in once again welcoming
back one of CMC's greatest alumni as he celebrates the music of another famed
bassist, Charles Mingus. Ray Drummond will be performing with the American Jazz Institute Orchestra.